The rupee strengthened by 31 paise to trade at fresh 10-week high of 49.77 against the dollar on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market in early trade today, supported by continued foreign fund inflows.
Forex dealers said consistent dollar inflows and euro's gains against the US currency overseas supported the rupee.
The rupee had ended flat at 50.08/09 against the dollar on Wednesday. The forex market was closed yesterday.
Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE Sensex shot up by 176.39 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 17,253.57 in early trade today